Stay Away from Pleasure

Chapter Nine

12:54PM

Time is ticking as I arrive at Claire's place. I hate how she lives here, but she refuses to live with me. I don't know why. Nowadays, she's trying to be so independent. She never takes any offers unless she's desperate and that's when she calls for money. When she does this, it's normally after she's bought a ton of drugs and has to find a way to pay it off. She takes the money and disappears and you never hear from her again. Well, until the next time she greets debt with open arms.

Locking the car, I go to ring her apartment number. I wait for what feels like centuries and no one answers. Brushing my brow, I cancel call and then ring up again. This time she picks up.

"Hello?" She says.

"Hi, it's Liz."

After a moment, the door buzzes and then opens. I climb up three flights of stairs and reach her floor. Once I get to her door, I knock repeatedly without giving her any space of time for sanity.

"Jesus, what is wrong with you?" Claire exclaims as she opens the door for me.

I smile softly at the sight of her.

"Don't use his name in vain." I say with a wink.

"Says the one who always blasphemes." Claire scoffs and counters.

With a laugh, I crash into her arms. God, she pisses me off but I haven't seen her in so long. She pulls me inside and closes the door. Inside her apartment, the walls and floors are in good condition and the front room is, overall, quite tidy and adequate. I still don't like how dangerous the area she lives in is. Like a tour guide, she walks me to the chocolate brown couch in the front room and we both sit facing each other.

She hugs me tightly and grabs my palms in her hands. Both her toffee coloured eyes find their way to mine as she takes a deep breath of reassurance and says, "I've decided to go to rehab."

My face drops and she laughs softly.

"Wow. Really?" I say astonished.

She nods and then says, "I've been thinking about it for ages now. There are too many distractions here and I'm always somehow driven back to the coke and then I have to go begging you for money." I feel my eyes begin to water and she hugs me again. "Aww, sis! Don't cry, this is a good thing. This way I won't have to worry about this place and food and drugs."

I shake my head, "I want you to go to rehab because you decide it and not because you want an easy way out from all the stress."

She sighs, "I just think it'll be easier, Liz."

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. This is not what I wanted. After all this time, all I've dreamt of is her getting the help she needs and then coming back clean, but this isn't like that. Right now, she's struggling and can't cope with the bills. She's not going because she wants to get help for her addiction, she just wants a stable environment where people don't sell drugs three feet away from her house. That only just sucks her in more. She needs a job. I remember Matt. I remember his kind proposal to give Claire a job. Maybe I should follow it up?

"Hey Claire?" I say and she looks at me. "I have a friend that's looking to employ a few people. Maybe you should go in for an interview?"

Claire's eyes deviate from mine and she half smiles with a sigh. "I don't know, sis," she releases in an exhausted huff, "I don't think I can."

Grabbing both her shoulders, I look into my big sister's eyes and say with abject confidence, "I believe in you, Claire."

"Well I don't." She shoots back quickly. "I ruined everything when I was just a kid. I have no work experience or anything and I have a 3.0 GPA. I'm useless."